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by captain_afghanistan



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Chimeras, F/M, Hydra (Marvel), Hydra Grant Ward, Marvel Universe, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 23:19:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4118383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_afghanistan/pseuds/captain_afghanistan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taking place after the events of Captain America: the Winter Soldier, but before those of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Natasha Romanov is on a mission to stop Chimera -- a small branch of Hydra -- from using their newly built time traveling device to stop Mission Super Soldier in its tracks before Captain America can be created. <br/>  Due to an accident, Natasha is sent into the machine and is whisked back in time to the 1940's, where she lands on the ground at Steve Rogers's old army training camp. There, she meets Agent Peggy Carter, whom she teams up with to defeat both Chimera and Hydra.</p>
<p>  Heil Hydra.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Into the Machine We Go

     It was a brisk winter's night, and Natasha Romanov was hustling down an icy road toward Yancy Instruments Incorporated, the headquarters for Chimera: a small technological branch Hydra formed after its destruction five months ago. As she walked, she felt her feet slip out from underneath her, sending her falling right onto the pavement.

     "God dammit," she spat out before pulling herself back to her feet.

     She had gotten information from Fury that Chimera had in the past few months developed a machine that could send people back in time. He had a theory that Chimera was going to send officials back into the time of the second World War to either kill Captain Steve Rogers before he underwent the serum administration, or to give the Red Skull information about the future to help Hydra pull the rug out from underneath the Allied forces.

     As she entered the building, she noticed right away what Chimera's cover was: they were pretending to sell electronics to the public - like an Apple store or something similar. After scanning the interior, she stalked right up to the man behind the front desk.

     "Excuse me," she began, coating her voice with a velvety tone that was instrumental in getting men to do what she wanted. "I'm here to speak to Joseph York."

     Joseph York was the founder of Chimera, a direct descendent from Arnim Zola, the Swiss scientist that worked with Johann Schmidt to harness the energies of the Tesseract. She was to speak with him, convince him to show her the time travel machine, and then report back her findings to Fury.

     "I'm sorry, but there is no Joseph York in this company," the man said, a small flash of nervousness behind his eyes.

     "Heil Hydra," she whispered, looking up at the man with narrowed eyes.

     "I see," he said quietly. "Come with me to my office so we can talk in private."

     "Of course," she said, nodding smoothly.

     She followed him into a small room in the back of the building. The man gestured to a chair in the corner of the room.

     "Take a seat," he offered.

     "Thank you," she said, sitting down gracefully in the chair.

     "Let's 'cut to the chase' as the young people say it," he said. "Why are you here?"

     "As I said before, I'm here to speak to Joseph York," Natasha said, looking straight into the man's eyes. She'd found in past missions that doing this helped her get what she wanted from almost any man.

     "Right," the man said, falling victim to her methods. "May I ask your name, ma'am?"

     "Klaudia Braune," she said, saying the German name with finesse.

     "Klaudia," he repeated. "Why do you wish to visit Mr. York?"

     "Those reasons are confidential," she murmured. "But, if you must know, I am here to discuss new methods of defense with him. I have a few select firearms that he may be interested in."

     "I see," he said. "Well, let me call him down."

     He picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers: 224. Natasha noted these numbers carefully, as they might be key to saving her mission later.

     "Mr. York, we have someone here to see you."

  
****

  
    Natasha followed York up several winding staircases, her high heels clicking on the tile floor beneath her.

     "Miss Braune," he said as he walked. "I've heard that you have some weaponry to offer me."

     "I do," she said sweetly. "But before I tell you about the items my company has to offer, I would like to take a tour of the machines you have here. Just to make sure I know I'm selling to someone who has the ability to control such dangerous machinery."

     "But of course," Joseph said. "We've actually just developed a product that I'm absolutely positive will assure you that our company is just what you're looking for to manage your goods safely and responsibly."

     "Do tell."

  
****

  
    Joseph led Nat up to the roof, where several of Chimera's weapons were stored.

     "And this, Miss Braune, is the pride of Yancy Instruments," he said.

     "Sir," she interjected. "We both know who you really are."

     "Of course," said York. "And this is Chimera's pride and joy. "

     He motioned to a large machine, shining with silver chrome. In the center, a large hole shaped like an oval stood. Natasha assumed that it was the portal part of the time machine.

     "What is it?" she asked with feigned curiosity.

     "This, Klaudia, is a time machine."

     She gasped. "Really? What do you plan to do with it?"

     And, just like that, York began spilling out all of Chimera's secrets.

     "This machine has one purpose, and one purpose only: we're going to send a few of our best-trained officials back to the 1940's to - " His phone began to ring in his pocket. " - I'm sorry, Miss. This will just be a moment."

     He lifted the device to his ear and listened.

     "Mhm. Yes. I see. Okay. Yes. Of course. Thank you. Talk later." He pocketed the phone again, and looked at Natasha with interest. "It seems we have a security breach."

     And with that, Natasha knew exactly what was going on. She whipped out a handgun that was tucked in her belt. In the time it took her to do that one simple action, four Chimera soldiers had flooded onto the roof, machine guns in hand. With swift action, Nat leaped into the air, landing on top of a large cannon.  
The guns stopped firing and she sprang into action, twisting above two of the men. She kicked out her feet, knocking one of the men to the floor. The other grabbed her foot and yanked her down to the ground. She felt all of the air in her lungs leave her body as she slammed into the concrete. She tried desperately to regain her breath, but nothing happened. She couldn't breathe.

     The man leaped on top of her, and began pounding into her face. She felt the sting of pain with every blow. Thinking fast, she whipped up her legs, throwing the man to the side. Natasha flew to her feet and spun around to face two more men. They both began throwing more punches.  
She managed to deflect each blow. She thought she was winning. Just had to knock out these men, and she'd be safe. But she'd completely forgotten about Joseph York.

     Her knees gave out as a chain wrapped around them.

     "Son of a bitch!" she screamed, staggering backward.

     She'd expected to collide with cement. To hit the ground. But nothing happened. Instead, she found herself falling through space, falling straight toward an army training camp below.


	2. Meeting the Other Woman

     She plummeted toward the ground, millions of curse words fluttering through her mind. As she fell, she began thinking about ways to lessen the impact. The ground was hundreds of feet below her, and there was no way she was going to survive the drop. People rarely survive falls of over fifty feet, let alone seven hundred.

     She scanned around, searching for a body of water that she could try to land in. Nothing. Were there any trees she could try to grab hold of? No. Nope. She, Natasha Romanov, best agent S.H.I.E.L.D. had to offer, was going to die.

     "Help!" she screamed. It was the only thing she could think to do. "Please! Someone!"

     She couldn't see anything as she fell, so she had no way of knowing that below her, a team of army officials led by Agent Peggy Carter was assembling to create a landing pad for Natasha.

  
****

 

     She felt her fall be cushioned by a soft pocket of air as she landed. Yes, the impact hurt. A lot. Many of the swears she'd been thinking about earlier erupted out of her mouth.

     Natasha sat up and looked out, immediately meeting the brown eyes of another woman.

     "Who are you?" the woman asked. The first thing Nat noticed was the accent.

     "Where am I?" she asked. "Am I in England?"

     "Very funny," the other woman said. Then, she whipped out a gun and aimed it directly at Natasha's head. "Now tell me who you are."

     She wasn't in the mood to fight. Her body ached all over, and it just wasn't going to happen.

     "The name's Natasha," she said. The woman stepped back, and Nat finally got a good look at her. Something about this woman struck her as familiar. What was it? "Now tell me who _you_ are."

     "You may call me Agent Carter," the woman said.

     Agent Carter. Why did that sound familiar?

     "Alright, Carter," she said. "Could you help me up please? I think maybe a hospital would be in order."

     Two men stepped forward to aid her, but Agent Carter told them to stay back.

     "It's alright," she said. "I'll tend to her."

  
****

  
    "So, tell me who you are. Really," Agent Carter said.

     "Hmm?" Natasha hadn't been paying attention. Instead, she was busy trying to figure out who this woman was and why she knew her.

     "I don't appreciate this," Agent Carter snapped.

     "Tell me your first name."

     "Excuse me?"

     "Tell me your first name," repeated Natasha.

     "Tell me who you really are," pressed the Agent.

     "You first."

     "You."

     "You."

     "You."

     "You!" screamed Natasha. "Please! I know you from somewhere, and I can't think of where it is. It's killing me!"

     "Fine," muttered Agent Carter. "If you must know, my name is Agent Peggy Carter."

     "Peggy..." Her mind wandered. Where had she heard this name before? For some reason, Steve Rogers's face kept popping into her mind whenever she thought of the name. "That's it!" she exclaimed.

     She remembered. When she and Steve had been in New Jersey, tracking down Zola's file, they'd discovered a secret room - possibly the starting point for S.H.I.E.L.D - and there were a few photos. One of Howard Stark. And one of this lady.

     'Who's the lady?' she'd asked Steve. Steve hadn't answered. That was Peggy Carter, the woman that Steve had fallen in love with. The woman that he'd left behind when he went down into the ice almost 70 years ago. This was her.

     "What's it?" Peggy asked.

     "I knew I'd known you from somewhere!" Natasha exclaimed.

     "And where might that be?" the woman asked.

     How was she going to explain to this woman, someone who'd never even experienced the technology of a simple computer, that she'd traveled in time? Well, she guessed she could just say it. So, she began to tell Peggy. There were only a few things she left out while she explained, and one of those things was Steve Rogers.

     "That is.. something," said Peggy. Nat didn't know what she'd been expecting. Maybe a major freakout? A meltdown? Screaming? She didn't really know, but she'd been anticipating something more than this.

     "Yeah," she said. "Yeah it is."

     "So.. Hydra is planning on halting the Super Soldier program?"

     "Yes."

     "Do you think they'll succeed?"

     "Ye-no-I don't know," admitted Natasha.

     "Well I guess that means that we have to stop them," said Peggy.

     "I suppose it does."

  
****

  
    Within another hour, Peggy had explained to Natasha about the Super Soldier program.

     "The soldiers should be arriving today, actually," Peggy said.

     "Oh, really?" Natasha asked. "That's exciting."

     "Yes, yes it is," said Peggy. "But, you have to promise to stay out of their sight. We can't let them see someone who shouldn't be born for another forty years."

     "Agreed," said Natasha. "What should I do?"

     "Scope out the perimeter. Make sure no Hydra forces are attempting to penetrate the camp. Perhaps examine the subjects without them noticing? Let me know what you find."

     "Alright," Nat said. "Tell me how the day goes."

     "I will," said Peggy. "Of course."


	3. First Day of Training

     Peggy left Natasha in the room, trusting her to manage herself on her own. Something about the woman radiated power, and Peggy admired that. Now she was off to meet the new recruits.

  
    She walked with confidence toward the line of young men, anticipating a little bit of trouble. Many men seemed to disregard her as a person and instead they took her as a sex toy. She noted one short little man in the line and wondered what he had done to get here.

  
    "Recruits! Attention!" she commanded. The men stood up straight and snapped into position. "Gentlemen, I'm Agent Carter. I supervise all operations for this division."

  
    One of the men spoke up.

  
    "What's with the accent, Queen Victoria?" There always had to be one like this, didn't there? "Thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army."

  
    She was already irritated. "What's your name, soldier?" Perhaps she could get him to start acting like a man.

  
    "Gilmore Hodge, your Majesty," he replied mockingly. She fought the urge to snap back at him.  

  
    "Step forward, Hodge," she said curtly. "Put your right foot forward."

  
    "Mm. Are we gonna wrastle?" he asked sarcastically. "Cuz I got a few moves I know you'll like."

  
    That was it. She'd had enough. Without warning, she swung out her fist. It connected with his jaw, and Hodge was sent flying to the ground. Good. That seemed to take out a little bit of her anger. She stole a glance at the other men, daring them to say anything. They remained silent, with only traces of smiles on their faces.

  
    "Agent Carter." She heard a voice from her left.  

  
    "Colonel Phillips," she said, addressing the officer.

  
    "I can see that you're breaking in the candidates. That's good," he said. He looked down at Hodge. "Get your ass up out of that dirt and stand at attention 'till someone comes 'n tells you what to do."

  
    "Yessir," said Hodge.

  
    The colonel looked at him with disgust before continuing with his speech.

  
    "General Pattin has said: 'Wars are fought with weapons, but they are won by men.' We are going to win this war because we have the best - " He faltered when his eyes caught the little man. " - men." He paused.

  
    "And because they are going to get better. Much better."

  
     _They'd better_ , thought Agent Carter. She knit her eyebrows when she looked at the small man. What was he doing here? He was so... little. How could he help defeat the Germans? Any of those old crouts could kill him with a flick of their finger.

  
    "The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort made up of the best minds of the Free World. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man. At the end of this week, we will choose that man who will be the first in a new breed of Super Soldier. And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of Hell."

  
     The men all looked at him with wide eyes, as if they couldn't believe what they were hearing.  

  
_It's true_ , she thought. _And we're going to need it if we're going to defeat Hydra and Chimera once and for all._

  
     But these men didn't know what she knew. They didn't know that Hydra had survived the war, and that they'd branched off to form new organizations. They'd never heard of Chimera, and none of them believed time travel was possible. They didn't know exactly how much was at stake. Only the toughest men would survive.

  
    "Alright," said Colonel Phillips. "Fall in. It's time to do some training. First order of business: trench crawling."

  
  
    ****

  
  
    Natasha found herself wandering the camp, watching the troops. She lurked in the shadows, behind the trees so none of the men would see her.

  
    "First one to finish is a real man!" someone yelled, probably a colonel or a general.

  
    About twenty men dove for a track of dirt covered with posts and barbed wire.

  
   _Trench crawling_ , she thought. _Maybe this will be interesting_.

  
    She watched carefully. As her eyes scanned the men, she saw someone familiar: Steve! She just couldn't get over how little he was. The men knelt down and began to wriggle their way under the wire. Steve was falling way behind. It was kind of pathetic, Natasha had to admit. But it was so cute, watching one of the strongest men she knew struggle to even crawl.

  
    One man decided that it would be funny to kick down one of the posts that held the wire up above Steve. It came crashing down on him. Nat saw him wince, but he persevered. That was the Steve she knew. Oh, how she would love to see that man's face when he realized that the little guy he was teasing would soon become Captain America, the first Avenger.

  
    All of the other men were done now, and it looked like one of them was walking over to where she was hiding. She didn't know what he was doing, but she did know that she had to get out of there. Quickly and quietly, she scaled the tree. Turned out that the man just wanted to take a piss. Oh, that was the most disgusting thing she'd ever witnessed.

  
    Natasha decided that maybe it was better she didn't watch the training.


	4. Decisions, Decisions

The next day, Peggy left Natasha in her room.

"Make yourself comfortable," she said. "Just don't take anything."

"Can I borrow the clothes?" Nat asked. "They're pretty nice."

"Thank you," said Peggy. "Yes, you can. But this does not mean that you can wander the camp freely. You aren't supposed to be here whether you look like you're from the forties or not."

"But didn't those men see me when I fell from the sky?" she asked.

"Yes," Agent Carter replied. "But I told them you were a German spy. As far as they know, you've been terminated."

"Oh, okay," said Nat. "I'll just stay in here, then."

"Yes, do that," the agent said. "I'll report to you as soon as I'm done. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go train some idiots."

 

****

 

Peggy waited in the car for the men.

"Come on, ladies!" the trainer yelled. "Let's go, let's go! Double time! Come on! Let's go! Faster! Move! Go!"

To Peggy, it sounded like he needed a little exercise, too.

"Ho!" he pointed to the flag that marked the halfway point. "That flag means you're only at the halfway point. First man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Carter!" The men stood there, looking at him in disbelief. "Move!"

As they lunged for the flagpole, Peggy couldn't help being amused. They were like a pack of dogs fighting over a piece of meat. Only one man stayed out of the tussle. What was his name again? Right. Rogers. Steve Rogers.

How he managed to even make it this far, Peggy would never understand.

Hodge, the man that had disrespected her when she'd first introduced herself, made an attempt to climb the pole. Her stomach churned at the thought of him in the same vehicle as her. But, just then, Hodge lost his grip and slid down the pole to the ground. Thank the Lord.

"No one's got that flag in seventeen years!" the coach called out.

Peggy smiled. She wasn't going to have to share her car with anyone.

"Now fall back in line! Come on! Fall in! Let's go! Get back into formation!"

The men reluctantly obeyed, stalking angrily back to the path. Only one man disobeyed: Steve Rogers. Instead, he walked right up to the flagpole and looked it up and down. Was he going to try to climb it?

"Rogers! I said fall in!"

Steve disregarded him as he bent down. Agent Carter wondered what he was up to. Was he going to throw up? Instead, his hands reach for the metal piece that held the flag pole up and pulled it out. Immediately, the pole fell down.

Peggy was impressed as Steve walked to the flag and picked it up. This man was clever, and clever was the kind of thing a Super Soldier needed to be.

"Thank you, sir," he said to the trainer as he climbed into the car.

Peggy looked at him and smirked. He avoided her gaze, like he was afraid to even look at her. Poor thing, probably had never even spoken to a woman. Oh well, she wouldn't try to make him uncomfortable. He needed to rest, after all, she was going to be training the men tomorrow and there was to be no breaks.

 

****

 

"Ah, Natasha," Peggy said as she walked into her room.

"Hey, Peggy," Nat said. She was wearing some of Agent Carter's clothes. "Does this suit make my butt look big?"

"No," said Peggy. “Your butt is already large on its own.”

“Ha ha,” Natasha replied sarcastically. “So, what am I supposed to do while these guys are training?”

“Well,” began Peggy. “As I train the men, you could scout out the area around camp. As you told me when you first arrived, Chimera is looking for a chance to stop Mission Super Soldier before we can pick a candidate.”

“How often do you want me to go out there?” she asked. Nat couldn't spend her entire time here in this room; it was going to drive her insane.

“Why don't you do a perimeter every three hours or so?” Peggy suggested.

“And what do I do when I'm not doing that?”

“That's up to you,” said Peggy. “I'll be busy working with the men until a subject is chosen. As long as you don't reveal yourself, what you do with your time is your choice.”

“Then, I suppose I'll go 'n do a perimeter.'” Nat said. “Be back in a bit.”

“Alright,” said Peggy.

 

****

 

Natasha crept along the edges of the camp, looking for suspicious characters. So far, she hadn't seen anyone that appeared to be a threat to anyone, but that didn't mean she was safe. She knew all too well that anyone can make themselves seem harmless and vulnerable – she used this tactic all too often on her own missions.

She contemplated whether or not she should tell Peggy that Steve was the one that should be chosen. It would save so much time and shorten the window of opportunity for Hydra to strike. But, if she told Peggy, then she would feel required to tell the woman what happens to the Captain. And, if she did that, history could be altered.

It was already changed enough as it was, what with Nat being here. That probably induced multiple paradoxes that she didn't care to try to wrap her head around. She would have to go with the flow, act as if she didn't have any idea of the events to come. And, most of all, stay away from Steve.

She walked around the camp twice, scouring for other people. She didn't come across anyone, so she decided to return to where Peggy was.


	5. Transformation

Two days later, Peggy was conversing with Colonel Phillips.

“So, that's your final decision?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “Erskine insists that he's got to be the one.”

“I agree,” she said. “He's certainly brave enough. You've got to know that, especially after the incident with the grenade.”

“He's too skinny,” said Phillips to himself.

“Ah, but the serum will fix that, sir,” Peggy pointed out.

“Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.”

Peggy chuckled.

 

****

 

 

“I know this neighborhood,” Steve said to Peggy as they drove. She raised her eyebrows. “I got beat up in that alley.”

He paused as they drove.

“And that parking lot.

“And behind that diner.”

“Did you have something against running away?” Peggy asked, amused.

He shook his head. “You start running, they'll never let you stop,” said Steve, still not looking at her. “You stand up, push back. You can't say no forever, right?”

“I know a little of what that's like,” said Peggy, remembering her struggles to be respected as a person on the work field. “To have every door shut in your face.”

Steve looked at her with curiosity. “I guess I just don't know why you'd want to join the Army if you were a beautiful dame. Or a beautif- a woman. An agent, not a dame.” She turned to look at him, eyes widening with disbelief as he continued.“You _are_ beautiful.” He tried to spit out a few other words, but none came out.

“You have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?” Peggy asked, amused.

He chuckled. “I think this is the longest conversation I've had with one. Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on.”

“You  _must_ have danced,” she said.

“Well, asking a woman to dance always seems so terrifying,” he replied, looking down. “And the past few years just... didn't seem to matter that much. Figured I'd wait.”

“For what?” she asked, intrigued.

“The right partner.”

She smiled and turned to look out the window. It was then that she decided that she liked Steve, not just as a good soldier, but as a man. He'd make the perfect choice for the Super Soldier program.

 

****

 

Natasha heard voices outside her door. She crept to it, leaned her ear on the wood, and listened.

“He's left,” said a German voice. “Carter just took him for ze serum.”

“God damn Erskine,” cursed another man. “I'll have to go.”

“Do you know where zey're headed?” the first man asked.

“Yes,” replied the other. “I vill kill Rogers.”

“And, if you don't?”

“I vill bring back a vial of ze serum,” he said. “So zat we can make anozer solider of our own.”

She heard their footsteps grow quieter as they walked away. Her eyes widened as she struggled to think of what to do. Peggy had instructed her not to be seen by anyone, but these men were going to kill Steve! That was part of her mission, to stop them.

After waiting a good three minutes for the coast to clear, she peeked out the door. There wasn't a person in sight. Taking the opportunity, she dashed out of the room and headed for the camp's exit. She heard the motor of a car as it sped away, headed toward the secret location of the serum administration.

Nat saw an unoccupied vehicle and sprinted toward it, climbing inside. Though the car was unlocked, there was no key. She hotwired the car and shifted into what she presumed was drive -– it was hard to tell with these old things -– and followed the German down the road.

She had to drive like a normal civilian; nothing could seem suspicious. She was just another forties woman that worked for the Army. That's all.

“God dammit,” she cursed as she drove. “If only they had cell phones.”

If she had a way to communicate with Agent Carter, the German could probably be eliminated as soon as he arrived. But, with the lack of technology, he might be able to get inside the facility unchallenged. And then what would Natasha do?

She couldn't go inside; everyone would see her. But, then again, she couldn't just let this Hydra or Chimera agent –- whatever he may be –- hijack the entire mission. Would revealing herself _really_ constitute a huge threat? Would anyone really care?

 

****

 

She pulled up on the street behind the German's car. She had seen him walk into the building as she drove up, so she knew exactly where to go. Nat hopped out of the vehicle and jogged inside.

“Hello,” said the old woman inside.

“Hi,” replied Nat. “Uh.. you know the man that just came in here?”

“Who?” the woman asked.

“The German guy. Where did he go?”

“I don't know who you're talking about,” the woman said, but Nat knew she was lying.

“Look,” said Nat. “People are in danger. That guy is trying to stop Operation Super Soldier.”

“What?” she asked with feigned confusion.

“Come on, lady!” Nat screamed in frustration. “Fine. I'll go find him myself.”

She ran forward, looking for something that might be a hidden door. It was obvious to her that this lady was hiding something –- probably the location of the serum administration.

“Leave,” said the woman. “Before I have to call the police.”

“Come on!” Nat whined. “I _need_ to get in! Tell me where the door is.”

She pulled her handgun out of her pocket and pointed it at the woman. The woman did the same, but brought up a machine gun. Natasha stepped back when she saw that she was outmatched.

“Fine,” said Nat. “I'll. Just.. keep that gun on hand. I wouldn't be surprised if the man came running out with the serum at any moment.”

And, with that, she sighed and left the building, cursing to herself all the way to the car. What was wrong with her? She was a trained assassin for God's sake! She should be able to find secret doors and avoid being killed by an  _old lady_ .

She supposed Peggy would have to deal with this one on her own.

 

****

“Can you hear me?” Doctor Erskine asked as the microphone screeched. “Is this on?” Satisfied with the volume of his voice, he continued. “Ladies and gentlemen, today, we take not anozer step towards annihilation, but ze first step in ze path to peace. We begin with a series of micro injections into ze subject's major muscle groups. Ze serum infusion vill cause immediate cellular change. And zen, to stimulate growth, ze subject vill be saturated with Vita rays.”

He walked over to where Steve was laying, strapped down to the bed of the chamber.

“That wasn't so bad,” said Steve, and Peggy stifled a giggle.

“Zat was penicillin,” said Erskine. “Serum infusion beginning in five -– ”

Peggy took a deep breath. The process was supposed to be extremely painful. Would Steve make it with his frail body? Would his immune system allow such changes to be made to his frame?

“ –- four, three, two, one.”

And the serum was injected into Steve's arms. Peggy found herself holding her breath, afraid of God knows what. She saw him wince and his eyes shot open as he realized how much pain he'd have to bare. Peggy bit her lip. Could he handle it? Maybe they should have picked a different man, someone stronger, to take part in the Super Soldier experiment instead. At least for the first time.

“Now, Mr. Stark,” Erskine said to Howard.

As he pulled the lever, the chamber began to adjust to stand vertically.

_This is it_ , she thought.  _Here goes nothing. Hydra can't stop us now._

As the chamber closed around Steve, Peggy let herself breathe. How long had she been holding her breath? She shook her head, willing herself to stop worrying. Steve was just another man, one of her soldiers, nothing more.

Doctor Erskine knocked on the chamber. “Steven? Can you hear me?”

“Probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?” said Steve in a muffled voice. 

Erskine didn't respond to Steve. Instead he nodded to Howard. “We vill proceed.”

 

****

Steve started wailing and groaning in pain.

“Shut it down!” Peggy yelled, worried that something bad was happening to him.

“Turn back, Mr. Stark. Turn it off! Kill it!” Erskine commanded, pointing at Howard. “Turn back!”

“No!” yelled Steve from within the chamber. “Don't! I can do this!”

Peggy didn't pay any attention to the numbers Howard called out; she was too worried about Steve. He was brave, she'd give him that. Braver than anyone she'd ever met. But, sometimes, she felt, he was _too_ brave. He didn't care enough for himself, for his health.

But, when he stepped out of the chamber, she forgot everything she was thinking. He was so... different? Was that the correct word for what she was seeing?

“Son of a bitch did it,” remarked Colonel Phillips, shaking his head.

She ran down to the bottom floor to talk to him. Well, actually, she just wanted to get a good look at what had happened. And, when she got up close, she was the one that went speechless. After taking two deep breaths, she finally managed to force a few words out of her mouth.

“How do you feel?” she asked, looking Steve up and down.

“Taller,” he said, out of breath.

“You look taller,” she replied.

_But that's not all that's different_ , she added in her mind.


	6. An Explosive Greeting

"How do you like Brooklyn now, Senator?" Colonel Phillips muttered from behind her.

    "I can think of some folks in Berlin who are about to get very nervous," the Senator replied.

    What with all the congratulations being doled out to Erskine, Stark, and Steve himself, nobody noticed the man with the lighter. With a flick of his fingers, he clicked it, triggering a huge explosion in the observation room. Glass showered down upon everyone, and Peggy found herself cowering in fear of another explosion. It was unlike her to react this way, but she was caught off guard. After all, who expected there to be an agent of Hydra among them?

    "Stop him!" someone shouted as the man dashed for a remaining vial of Erskine's serum. He was going to take the stuff back to Hydra so the Red Skull could use it for his own purposes. Natasha had been right -- Hydra really was gunning for the Super Soldier Program.

    A gun fired and Erskine went down. Peggy felt a catch in her throat as Steve lept to him, stooping at his side. White hot rage flared up in her chest as she decided then and there that this man wasn't leaving the city alive.

    She whipped out her gun and fired at the man as he sprinted up the stairs. Twice she shot, and twice she missed. Anger burning in her eyes, she ran up the stairs in pursuit. There was absolutely no way in hell she was letting him get away with this.

    Ahead of her, she heard a single gunshot followed by the clicking of a machine gun, and she knew what had happened. Confirming her suspicions, she was greeted by the dead body of the old woman who guarded the facility at her feet. Choking back a sob, she pressed onward.

    Peggy burst through the door onto the sidewalk just as the man sped by in his car. She made her way out into the middle of the street and aimed her gun at the back window of the vehicle. Behind her, a car exploded in flames -- she whipped around to make sure there was no debris headed her way and turned back when she confirmed that she was safe.

    She shot once and shattered the glass, the bullet killing the driver. The vehicle careened forward and collided with another car on the street. The German leaped out of his car and made his way to a stopped cab. Since the driver was out on the street, checking up on what had happened with the crashing vehicles, the cab was unoccupied. The Hydra agent took this opportunity to climb in.

    He was driving straight towards Peggy, clearly hoping to force her to back off or run her over if she didn't move. But she wasn't scared. Not one bit. Peggy stepped forward and brought up her handgun, arm unshaking. This is what she had been trained for. 

    Two shots fired out of the barrel of the gun, both missing the man and piercing bullet sized holes in the windshield of the car. 

    One more shot and I've got you, she thought to herself as she pulled the trigger for a third time.

    But just as she did so, she wad knocked to the ground by what felt like a huge rock, but she soon realized it was Steve.

    "I had him!" she shouted, ignoring the fact that he may have just saved her from getting run over by a taxi cab.

    "Sorry!" he replied as he sprinted away, trailing the car.

    "Idiot," she muttered under her breath as she turned back, heading to the facility to make sure everyone was okay.

****

    "Mr. Stark," she said as she approached Howard. "Please tell me what just happened. How did he even get through security?"

    "I don't have any idea," Stark replied.

    "And Erskine?" Peggy prompted, searching the room for him.

    "Dead," he replied, looking down with solemn eyes. "Bullet found its way straight to his chest. He was dead long before the paramedics arrived."

    "And there's no way to recreate the serum?" she asked, diverting the conversation.

    "No," Howard answered. "The recipe died with him."

    She shook her head and stepped away from him. This was a conversation she needed to have with Natasha.

****

    "What?!" Natasha exclaimed as Peggy finished telling her what had happened? "You've got to go help Steve! Wh-why did you just leave him with that man?"

    "Steve is fine," Peggy reassured her. "He's just arrived back here and is in the hospital ward at the moment. I'm meant to go speak to him in five minutes."

    Natasha shook her head. She couldn't believe what she was hearing -- she had been wrong. Peggy hadn't been able to deal with the German by herself. And now Erskine was dead and Hydra was winning.

    "Well then, what are you still doing here?" Nat asked. "Go!"

    "I just thought I should tell you what happened first," said Peggy. "But alright. I'll be back."

****

    "Think you got enough?" Steve asked the nurse as she extracted blood from his arm.

    "Any hope of reproducing the program is locked in your genetic code," Peggy said in response to the look of confusion on his handsome -- no -- his face. "But without Dr. Erskine, it would take years."

    Steve sighed. "He deserved more than this." 

    "If it could work only once, he'd be proud it was you," Peggy said in an attempt to reassure him. 

    I know I am, she added in her mind.

    She looked at him and smiled grimly, but he did not return the favor. Her eyes darkened as she looked down again. 

    

****

    "We're not even close to this technology." Peggy could hear Stark's voice from inside the room. She continued walking with Steve, listening to what they were saying.

    "Then who is?" 

    "Hydra," answered Colonel Phillips. "I'm sure you've been reading our briefings."

    "I'm on a number of committees, Colonel."

    "Hydra is the Nazi deep science division. It's led by Johann Schmidt," Peggy said, walking into the room with Steve trailing just behind her. "But he has bigger ambitions."

    "Hydra is practically a cult," the Colonel added. "They worship Schmidt. They think he's invincible."

    "So what are you going to do about it?" asked the Senator.

    "I spoke to the President this morning," said Phillips. "As of today, the SSR is being retasked."

    "Colonel?" said Peggy quietly. Was he suggesting that she leave the camp? She couldn't just leave Rogers behind. 

    "We're taking the fight to Hydra. Pack your bags, Agent Carter. You, too, Stark. We're flying to London tonight." And, what about Natasha? How would she take her along? Peggy couldn't just leave her at camp. If they really were taking the fight to Hydra, Nat would need to be part of that fight.

    "Sir, if you're going after Schmidt, I want in," said Steve.

    "You're an experiment," Phillips replied, dismissing him. "You're going to Alamogordo."

    "But the serum worked," Steve pointed out, but Peggy knew he wasn't going to win this argument. 

    "I asked for an army and all I got was you," he said gruffly, with a hint of distaste. "You are not enough."

    "With all due respect to the Colonel," said another man, approaching Steve. "I think we may be missing the point. I've seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country's seen it. Paper."

    Someone brought up a newspaper and showed Steve the front page.

    "The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands," he said. "You don't take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab. Son, do you want to serve your country? On the most important battlefield of the war?"

    He didn't need to ask. This was Steve Rogers, Captain Good Man, he was talking to.

    "Sir," began Steve. "That's all I want."

    "Then, congratulations. You just got promoted."

    And they shook hands.

****

    "Peggy!" Natasha exclaimed when the agent walked through the door. "What's the suitcase for?"

    "We're flying to London tonight," Peggy replied. "And you've got to come along."

    "Me? What? How? Why?"

    "Colonel Phillips is insisting that we take the fight to Hydra," she explained. "And you're crucial to doing that."

    "Well, then..." muttered Natasha, raising her eyebrows. "How am I going to do this?"

    "You'll have to go undercover," said Peggy, tossing her a uniform. "Put this on, and hurry. Do you know how to do your makeup?"

    "Do I really have to wear makeup?" Nat asked. "Is it really necessary? Didn't you say we had to hurry?"

    "If you're going to be convincing, you need to look like me," said Carter. "No dillydallying. We have to go."


End file.
